Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings
Vowels
| iː | see | ɪ | sit | e / ɛ | bed | æ | cat |
| ɑː | father | ɒ | hot (UK) | ɔː | law | ʊ | put |
| uː | too | ʌ | cup | ɜː | bird | ə | about |
| eɪ | day | aɪ | my | ɔɪ | boy | aʊ | now |
| əʊ / oʊ | go (UK / US) | ɪə | near | eə | hair | ʊə | tour |
Consonants that look unusual
| θ | thin | ð | this | ʃ | she | ʒ | measure |
| tʃ | church | dʒ | judge | ŋ | sing | j | yes |
p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.
Marks
- ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
- ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)
Common word endings
- -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
- -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
- -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
- Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
- Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.
English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences
W 2,812 entries
Page 1 of 15: w – Walpole
- w noun, adjective, preposition, proper nounwatt
- W-shaped adjectiveShaped like the letter W.
- w.c. nouna toilet in Britain
- w.m.d. nouna weapon that kills or injures civilian as well as military personnel (nuclear and chemical and biological weapons)
- wa nounA traditional proa-style outrigger canoe of the Caroline Islands.
- Wabash proper nounAn unincorporated community in Phillips County, Arkansas.
- WAC proper noun, noun(rail transport) The station code of Wan Chai in Hong Kong.
- wackily adverbIn a way or to an extent that is wacky.
- wacko adjective, noun, interjection(slang, informal, somewhat derogatory) Amusingly eccentric or irrational.
- wacky adjective(slang, informal) Zany; eccentric.
- Waco proper noun, nounA city in Georgia, United States.
- wad noun, verbAn amorphous, compact mass.
- wadding noun, proper nounWads collectively.
- waddle noun, verb, proper nounA squat, swaying gait.
- waddler nounOne who waddles.
- wade verb, noun, proper noun(intransitive) To walk through water or something that impedes progress.
- wader nounOne who wades.
- waders nounplural of wader
- wadi noun, proper nounA valley, gully, or stream bed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season.
- wading adjective, proper nounAppropriate to wade in.
- wading bird nounAny of various long-legged birds, such as cranes (Gruidae), herons (Ardeidae), storks (Ciconiidae), or flamingos (Phoenicopteridae), that w…
- wading pool nounA shallow pool usually used by children in which to play.
- wads noun, verbplural of wad
- wafer noun, verbA light, thin, flat biscuit/cookie.
- wafer-like adjectiveresembling a thin crisp wafer
- wafer-thin adjectiveVery thin, as thin as a wafer.
- waffle noun, verbA flat pastry pressed with a grid pattern, often eaten hot with butter and/or honey or syrup.
- waffle iron nounA cooking appliance, with hinged, indented metal plates, used to make waffles.
- waffler nounOne who waffles, or changes sides or positions frequently.
- waft verb, noun(ergative) To (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.
- wafture noun(archaic) Something that is wafted, such as a smell or sound.
- wag verb, noun(ambitransitive) To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.
- wage noun, verb(often in plural) An amount of money paid to a worker for a specified quantity of work, usually calculated on an hourly basis and expressed…
- wage earner nounSomeone who works for wages, especially if that wage supports a household.
- wage scale noun(business, labor relations) A system of remuneration for workers which specifies levels of payment based on set criteria, such as the skill…
- wage-earning adjectiveworking for hourly wages rather than fixed (e.g. annual) salaries
- wager noun, verb, proper nounA bet; a stake; a pledge.
- wagerer nounA person who wagers or bets.
- wages nounone's total income for a time period
- Wagga Wagga proper nounA city in southern New South Wales, Australia.
- waggery nounDroll behaviour characteristic of a wag.
- wagging nounThe motion of something that is wagged.
- waggish adjectivewitty, jocular, like a wag
- waggishly adverbIn a waggish manner.
- waggishness nounWaggish behaviour.
- waggle verb, noun(transitive) To move (something) with short, quick motions; to wobble.
- waggon noun, verb(chiefly UK) Dated spelling of wagon.
- waggoner proper nounA surname originating as an occupation for a wagoner.
- waggonwright nounAlternative form of wagonwright.
- Wagner proper nounA surname from German.
- Wagnerian adjective, nounOf, or characteristic of Richard Wagner, or his music; (by extension) of epic dimensions.
- wagon noun, verb, proper nounA heavier four-wheeled (normally horse-drawn) vehicle designed to carry goods (or sometimes people).
- wagon train nounA number of horse-drawn wagons traveling together for safety.
- wagon wheel nounThe wheel of a wagon, including railway wagons.
- wagon-lit noun(rail transport) A sleeping car, often used in international trains in continental Europe; the Wagons-Lits company also ran dining cars.
- wagoner noun, proper nounSomeone who drives a wagon.
- wagonwright nounA builder of wagons.
- wagram nouna town in northeastern Austria
- wagtail nounAny of various small passerine birds, principally of genus Motacilla, of the Old World, notable for their long tails.
- Wahabi nounAlternative spelling of Wahhabi.
- Wahabism nounAlternative form of Wahhabism.
- Wahhabi noun, adjective(Islam) An adherent of Wahhabism (Sunni Islamic fundamentalist reform movement).
- Wahhabism proper noun(Islam) A Sunni Islamic fundamentalist reform movement based on the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (c. 1703–1792), followed primar…
- wahoo noun, interjection, proper nounAcanthocybium solandri, a tropical and subtropical game fish.
- wahunsonacock nounIndian chief and founder of the Powhatan confederacy of tribes in eastern Virginia; father of Pocahontas (1550?-1618)
- wahvey nouna name for the God of the Old Testament as transliterated from the Hebrew consonants YHVH
- waif noun, verb(UK, law, archaic) An article of movable property which has been found, and of which the owner is not known, such as goods washed up on a b…
- Waikiki proper nounA beachfront neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.
- wail verb, noun, proper noun(intransitive) To cry out, as in sorrow or anguish.
- wailer nounOne who wails or laments.
- wailful adjective(chiefly poetic) Sorrowful; mournful.
- wailing nounA loud drawn out scream or howl.
- Wailing Wall proper noun(Judaism, possibly offensive) The Western Wall.
- wain noun, verb, proper noun(archaic or literary) A wagon; a four-wheeled cart for hauling loads, usually pulled by horses or oxen.
- wainscot noun, verb(architecture) An area of wooden (especially oaken) panelling on the lower part of a room’s walls.
- wainscoted adjective, verbAlternative spelling of wainscotted.
- wainscoting noun, verbAlternative spelling of wainscotting.
- wainscotting nounWooden (especially oaken) panelling on the lower part of a room’s walls.
- wainwright noun, proper noun(historical) A person who builds and repairs wagons.
- waist noun(anatomy) The part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach.
- waist-deep adjective(of water etc) As deep as would reach to the waist (of a standing person).
- waist-high adjectiveAs high as would reach to the waist (of a standing person).
- waist-length adjective(of clothing) extending only to the waist
- waistband nounA band of fabric encircling the waist, especially a part of a pair of pants or a skirt.
- waistcloth nounA cloth or garment worn around the waist.
- waistcoat nounAn ornamental garment worn under a doublet.
- waistline nouna line around the body at the waist; its measurement
- wait verb, noun, interjection, proper noun(intransitive) To delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
- wait on verbTo provide a service to (someone); to act as a servant to (someone); to serve (someone) as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant.
- waite proper nounA surname originating as an occupation for a watchman.
- waiter noun, verbA male or female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar.
- waiting noun(obsolete) Watching, observation; keeping watch, guarding.
- waiting area nounwaiting room
- waiting game noun(idiomatic) A strategy or course of action in which one or more parties refrain from direct action until circumstances change in their favo…
- waiting list nounAn ordered list of people waiting to obtain a good or service.
- waiting room nounA room in a public place for people to wait.
- waitress noun, verbA female attendant who serves customers in a restaurant, café, or similar.
- waive verb, noun(transitive, law) To relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forgo.
- waiver noun, verbThe act of waiving, or not insisting on, some right, claim, or privilege.
- Wajda proper nounA surname.
- Wakashan proper nounA family of languages spoken in Western Canada, composed of the Northern and Southern Wakashan language groups.
- wake verb, noun, proper noun(intransitive) (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.
- Wake Island proper nounAn island of the United States, among the islands of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the …
- wake up verb(intransitive) To stop sleeping; to awake.
- wake-robin nounAlternative form of wakerobin.
- wake-up call noun(literally, US) A telephone call to awaken someone at a certain time, especially one requested by the person while staying at a hotel.
- wakeboard noun, verbThe board one stands on for wakeboarding.
- wakeful adjectiveAwake; not sleeping.
- wakefulness nounThe state of being wakeful.
- wakeless adjectiveWithout (the possibility of) waking.
- waken verb(transitive) To wake or rouse from sleep.
- wakening nounThe act of awaking, or ceasing to sleep.
- waker adjective, noun, proper noun(now chiefly UK dialectal) Watchful; vigilant; alert.
- waking adjective, nounOccurring during wakefulness.
- waking up verbpresent participle and gerund of wake up
- Walapai nounAlternative form of Hualapai.
- Walbiri proper noun, nounAlternative form of Warlpiri.
- Waldenses nounplural of Waldense
- Waldheim proper nounA town in Saxony, Germany.
- waldmeister nounA herb used (particularly in Germany and central Europe) for flavouring wines and liqueurs, Galium odoratum.
- Waldorf salad noun(countable and uncountable) A type of salad, consisting of apple, nuts (especially walnuts), celery, and mayonnaise or a mayonnaise-based d…
- wale noun, verb, proper nounA ridge or low barrier.
- wales proper nounOne of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, formerly a principality.
- Walesa proper nounA surname in Polish, Wałęsa
- Walhalla proper nounA city in North Dakota, United States.
- walk verb, noun, proper noun(intransitive) To move on the feet by alternately setting each foot (or pair or group of feet, in the case of animals with four or more fee…
- walk about interjection(military, historical) An order of an officer to a sentry, waiving the customary salute.
- walk around verbTo walk with no planned destination; to meander.
- walk away verb(idiomatic) To withdraw from a problematic situation.
- walk in verbTo come without an appointment to a place that would normally require one.
- walk of life noun(idiomatic) An occupation, role, social class, or lifestyle.
- walk off verb(transitive) To recover from (a minor injury) or digest (a large meal) by walking around.
- walk on air verbTo be ecstatic.
- walk out verb(intransitive, labour) To stage a walkout or strike.
- walk over verbUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: to walk over.
- walk through verb(idiomatic, transitive) To explain (something) to (someone), step by step.
- walk-in noun, adjectiveA relatively small room (such as a closet or pantry) or refrigerator or freezer that is spacious enough to walk into.
- walk-on noun(sports) A student athlete who wants to try out for a college sports or athletic team without the benefit of a scholarship or having been r…
- walk-through adjectiveThat can be walked through.
- walk-to adjectiveclose enough to be walked to
- walk-up adjective, noun(of an apartment etc) Reached by stairs rather than an elevator.
- walkabout noun(Australia) A period, often extended, during which an Aboriginal person left a station or settlement to travel on country, typically season…
- walkaway noun, proper nounA case of a person walking away (e.g. an inmate from a facility, a cult member from a community); a person who walks away.
- walker noun, proper noun, interjectionThe agent noun of to walk: a person who walks or a thing which walks, especially a pedestrian or a participant in a walking race.
- walkie-talkie nounA portable, bidirectional radio transceiver, usually one of a pair.
- walking adjectiveIncarnate as a human; living.
- walking delegate nounA union representative who travels from workplace to workplace to oversee working conditions, handle disputes, ensure labor agreements are …
- walking fern nounEither of two species of fern in the genus Asplenium (Asplenium rhizophyllum or Asplenium sibiricum) that produce new plantlets from the ti…
- walking leaf nounleaf insect (Phylliidae family).
- walking on air verbpresent participle and gerund of walk on air
- walking papers noun(US) a request to leave a place.
- walking stick nounA tool, such as a cane, used to ease pressure on the legs, and to aid stability, when walking.
- walkingstick nounAlternative form of walking stick.
- walkman noun, proper nounA portable personal audio cassette player with headphones.
- walkout noun(labour) A sudden stoppage of work.
- walkover nounAn easy victory; a walkaway.
- walkway nounA clearly defined path for pedestrians.
- walky-talky nounAlternative form of walkie-talkie.
- wall noun, verb, proper nounA rampart of earth, stones etc. built up for defensive purposes.
- wall barley nounA grass of the species Hordeum murinum.
- wall clock nounA clock mounted on a wall.
- wall germander nounAny of species Teucrium chamaedrys, native from Portugal and Morocco to Iran, cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental.
- wall hanging nounA wall decoration, often a scroll or a tapestry.
- wall in verbTo enclose by surrounding with walls.
- wall of silence noun(idiomatic) Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a group with respect to information which might be contrary to their interest…
- wall pellitory nounSynonym of lichwort
- wall pepper nounAlternative form of wallpepper.
- wall plate noun(construction) A piece of timber laid horizontally in or on a wall as a support for a girder, rafter, or joist.
- wall plug noun(UK) A fixing that allows screws to be fitted into masonry walls, a dowel or screw anchor.
- wall rocket nounDiplotaxis (can refer both to the genus and specific species), native to the western Mediterranean and adjoining regions, used as a leaf ve…
- wall socket nounA mains electricity power point mounted in or on a wall inside a dwelling or other building.
- Wall Street proper noun(originally US, metonymic) American financial institutions or financial markets as a whole; (by extension) big-business interests.
- wall unit nounAn integrated set of furniture pieces (bookshelves, cabinet etc.) standing against the wall of a room.
- wall up verb(transitive) To seal with a wall.
- wall-paperer nounSomeone who wallpapers
- Walla Walla proper noun, nounA city, the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States.
- wallaby nounAny of several species of macropod marsupials; usually smaller and stockier than kangaroos.
- Wallace proper noun(countable) A Scottish surname transferred from the nickname, notably of the Scottish patriot William Wallace.
- wallah noun, adverb(North India) A servant or other person responsible for something, often specified before it, for example kitchen wallah.
- wallboard nounA construction material of pre-made boards used for walls and ceilings, usually a gypsum core with a paper surface.
- wallenstein nounAustrian general who fought for the Hapsburgs during the Thirty Years' War (1583-1634)
- waller noun, proper nounOne who builds walls.
- wallet noun(US, UK) A small case, often flat and often made of leather, for keeping money (especially paper money), credit cards, etc.
- walleye noun(plural "walleyes") One or a pair of sideways-looking misaligned eyes.
- walleyed adjectiveHaving eyes with a pale-coloured iris.
- walleyed pike nounThe walleye (fish).
- wallflower noun, verbAny of several short-lived herbs or shrubs of the Erysimum genus with bright yellow to red flowers.
- Walloon proper noun, noun, adjectiveA Romance language traditionally spoken in parts of southern Belgium and a small strip of northern France (around Givet).
- Walloons nounplural of Walloon
- wallop noun, verb, proper nounA heavy blow, a punch.
- walloper nounOne who wallops.
- walloping adjective, adverb, noun(slang) Whopping, large in size.
- wallow verb, noun, adjectiveTo roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
- wallowing nounThe act of one who wallows.
- wallpaper noun, verb(uncountable) Decorative paper-like material used to cover the inner walls of buildings.
- wallpaperer nounOne who hangs wallpaper.
- walls noun, proper noun(US, slang) The vagina.
- wally noun, verb, proper noun(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) A fool.
- walnut noun, adjective, proper nounA hardwood tree of the genus Juglans.
- Walpole proper nounAn English habitational surname from Old English from either of two places in Norfolk and Suffolk.